I don't bet these Illinois-bred rats. It's criminal how far the Illinois program has declined. When I first started going the races regularly in the early 80s, the Illinois breeding program wasn't much. Most stallions standing in Illinois were just shitty full brothers to some good horse. Gay Skipper was the top dog. I always thought Shadow's Finale was the best stud in the state, but he may have had fertility issues. Breeder's awards and then the Million Dollar Bonus brought better stock into the state. Cottonwood Farm ran a really high quality program and forced Doc Walker to upgrade his stock. The horses began to improve to the point where they could compete nationally. Fox Valley Barzgar even won the Woodrow Wilson. The strongest generation of Illinois-breds were the foals of 1995. My horse, Mr. Blue Sky, would be 1/9 if you could transport him magically from 1998 to tonight's race and he would win by open lengths. Who knows what Big Tom might do to these pieces of shit. He might lap them.
_________________ Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby? Can you tell me where he's gone? I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill With Elon, Tulsi, and Don
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